…squabbling cousins, imperial cousins…

…a decrepit Hungary-Austria Empire and some squabbling cousins, endowed by God for eternal leadership…

28 June 1914. That event sparked by Gavrilo Princip of Serbia, officially considered a freedom fighter by his country, would inflict massive population decimation (and substantial wealth reduction) across empires that would implode.

Aside documentaries using actual footage of the war, the BBC recounts events in its 13-part dramatisation (and Mahler 5 Part 1 theme), ‘Fall of Eagles‘.

The Independent [paywall after a few free articles] has had a series on the event], ‘A History of the First World War in 100 Moments’. This moment, fairly unknown despite its ‘derring-do’ (?) – as the colonised in Africa are also ‘recruited’ to defend the way of life of others, A History of the First World War in 100 Moments: Guerrilla in the mist – a great German military maverick outwits the British again.

That World War I and its vengeful terms of surrender for Germany would yield consequences obvious to all but the vengeful. Unintended benefits for the masses would include better pay and the opening up of opportunities for women, to encourage the hapless male to serve as patriotic cannon fodder.

And no need to ask who had profited from death and destruction…